The Clan Konoha
by HazzaBump
Summary: When the people of Konoha are killed during the night by some unknown means the only survivors must band together and leave the village as soon as possible so with the help of the Sand siblings, the konoha 11 must unlock thier hidden potential and become a strong new clan formed from the remains of the leaf. Starts on the night before Naruto leaves with Jaraiya for the time skip
1. One Fateful Night

The moonlight shone over Konohagakure (Konoha for short) as it did every night, cascading over the carved faces of the four previous Hokage who watched over the village even after death, its citizens feeling safe as they live their lives happily, a great feat in this world of conflict where nothing seems to stay the same for long.

This place, also known as 'The Village Hidden in the Leaves' was home to the biggest population of the five hidden villages and one member of that population just so happened to be Naruto Uzumaki, the leaf's number one knucklehead ninja and host Jinchuriki of the nine-tailed demon spirit Karuma. He was at this time, lying asleep in a hospital bed a few feet from his friend Gaara of the desert, similar Jinchuriki of the one-tailed Shukaku.

Having defeated a powerful enemy the day before from the village of Artisans, the resurrected founder of said village no less, claiming to have been transformed into the 'ultimate ninja tool' and with the power to absorb chakra, Gaara and Naruto had suffered some heavy damage and chakra exhaustion so were recovering in a double room in the Konoha hospital that faces the rising sun.

The evening before, after arriving back at the village, Naruto had been visited by his mentor and teacher, the toad sage, master Jiraiya. He'd made plans with the white haired warrior for a training excursion out of the village borders for quite some time and would be leaving in the morning. In his enthusiasm, Naruto hardly slept a wink but with two elite ninja posted outside his room there was little he could do but stay.

"Can't sleep, hmm?" Gaara's voice was hushed and detached and portrayed the fragmented psyche of one tormented by the insane presence of Shukaku in his mind. Naruto was taken aback by the sudden vocalisation of the usually quiet suna shinobi.

"No... Well there are so many things to do before I leave and I'm stuck in here till morning!" he laid on his side and faced his new friend who was, in turn, staring at the ceiling, processing the information put to him. His new goal to understand friendship would ideally start with the ninja that had defeated him in the past and shown him the meaning of true strength.

With this intent in mind he sat up and, upon realising Shukaku's influence had healed him to near-perfect condition, he stood and retrieved his precious sand gourd from the floor. Strapping it to his back, the cork in the top of the container dissolved into sand and began to flow to the bed he once occupied. The granules shifted into position and slowly took shape in the bed forming a perfect copy of the sand-nin.

"Let's go then" Gaara continued, looking at the confused Naruto with what must have been an amateur grin before heading to the nearby window and opening it silently, letting a cool breeze waft into the room. Naruto quickly caught on and leapt out of bed following suit with a shadow clone and joining the auburn-haired boy at the window.

Using his third eye jutsu Gaara checked out the courtyard beyond the window for other shinobi before giving Naruto an 'all clear' nod. The blonde shinobi put one leg up on the window frame and jumped down to the courtyard, landing with a roll and motioning for Gaara to follow suit, he did so using his sand to guide him down to a more graceful landing than Naruto.

They hid from the moonlight in the shadows of the buildings and slowly made their way back to Naruto's apartment. The streets were bare, as was expected at this hour, sometime between one and three in the morning, the moonlight and silence revealed a subtle majesty of the hidden leaf that was otherwise disguised by the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day of the village. The silence was maintained the whole way back to his apartment where Naruto unlocked the door and let them in, palming the light switch as he entered.

Even the stoic Gaara was taken aback by the sheer abomination that was Naruto's apartment, garbage and dirty clothes littered the floor drawers were open and spilling out onto the floor, his bed was unmade and his covers trailed across the floor.

"You live here?" enquired Gaara, breaking the silence that had accompanied their journey.

"Home sweet home, eh?" Naruto grinned widely "Well for now at least, I should probably clean up before leaving" he glanced around the room until his eyes rested upon the nearby closet, from which he retrieved an old wooden broom and got to work.

They proceeded to tidy and pack away, the task taking until the middle morning hours, the light from the rising sun accompanying their toils as they packed Naruto's life into three trash bags, one cupboard and his travel bag, leaving only the picture frame containing the captured image of a young and happy team seven on the night stand.

He stared for a moment at the picture, a melancholy smile emerging on his face as he remembered the good times before Sasuke left them to run off to Orochimaru those months ago, he left the picture where it stood and slung his back onto his back and turned to face the sand shinobi, with a forlorn grin he motioned Gaara out of the apartment and dropped the trash bags on the outside porch for pickup.

"Where are you going first Naruto-kun?" Gaara inquired, trying the unfamiliar honorific that he'd heard people referring to their friends with while once again practicing his ever improving smile.

"Well Sakura-Chan lives not too far from here and she should have gotten up by now" he lead the way, motioning for Gaara to follow him to which the sand user complied.

The streets of Konoha were eerily quiet for a weekday morning, the people who would usually have been wandering the streets on their way to work or the market but today there wasn't a soul to be seen. Both Naruto and Gaara noticed something was awry when they realised that even the birds weren't calling.

"Have you noticed..?" Naruto was cut off when he saw Gaara nodding at him, his serious expression having returned to his face once more. Nonetheless they continued their journey to see Sakura. They paced through the street quietly, a kunai in Naruto's hand, Gaara on the other hand connecting a sand eyeball to his retinal nerve and scouting out the village.

"It appears the streets are empty" he stated with apprehension, staring at the leaf shinobi as if he should know the answer.

"We should wait till we arrive at Sakura's, she'll know if something's going on"

"Why?" the sand user probed.

"Because she's lady Tsunade's apprentice, she probably overhears this stuff, I dunno" he shrugged casually as they turned the corner around to their destination. Sakura not being a member of any of Konoha's main clans, her house wasn't particularly large or impressive but it had a distinct family charm that Naruto appreciated whenever he'd go around and with the sun rising behind them it looked all the more pleasant and homely.

Gaara leaned against the wall and crossed his arms as Naruto tapped on the red painted door, a look of indifference creeping across the read-head's face as he looked up to the clouds, noting how one to the north somewhat resembled his own sand gourd. Noticing the slowness of the answer Naruto went to knock again just to have the door yanked away from his hand and a hysterical Sakura scream his name and wrap her arms around his shoulders, bawling her eyes out like he'd never seen.

Putting comforting arms around Sakura, he gave the slightly surprised Gaara his what-the-heck-is-going-on look and, having seen that type of crying only once before from his sister at the death of the Kazekage, he entered the house to investigate.

The inside of the house held the same charm as the outside, the family portraits and sentimental objects scattered across the living room painted the picture of a happy lifestyle. Unaffected by the glimpse into the life he never had, Gaara continued his investigation, checking the kitchen in vain before moving upstairs where the inhabitants slept. Poking his head round the first door he noticed the pink walls and white furnishings belonging to Sakura Haruno.

Seeing no sign of distress, while also noting how much of a mess the room was, grinning slightly in amusement as he did, he moved on, overlooking the bathroom and moving straight to the last room of the house.

A contrast to their daughter's room, Sakura's parents slept in a very neat and tidy room, a mixture of white and grey-blue styling with white drawers, bedside table and a large cupboard that sat opposite the bed. The still occupied bed.

"Oh. Sorry Mr and Mrs Haruno-san, I..." He stopped. And that's when he realised. The tragedy that had caused Sakura's reaction earlier. The elder family members were lying in bed. Not moving. Not breathing.


	2. Dawn Of A New Day

**A/N:** Hey guys, just a few points on this chapter, hope you can take a mo to read through :)

1) This is about the length you can expect my chapters to come out around, I prefer to write shorter chapters so I get to update more often and it means people with busy schedules or low concentration can enjoy too :L

2) I've decided to add a couple other characters for the time being aside from the Konoha11 and sand siblings so that A) My backstory for the event makes better sense B) the gennin have someone to start them on thier more advanced training, i mean, they could hardly survive in the ninja world with just what they've learned already and finally C) Cus I like these characters :P

3) Also thanks for the reviews guys, always good to hear what you think, keep it up, I'm open to any constructive criticism and thoughts on how my tale may be improved, thanks :)

Well enjoy :)

* * *

Gaara soon found himself back downstairs with Naruto and the grieving Sakura, one comforting, orange-clad arm draped over her shoulders as she sat on the nearby stone bench weeping to her teammate. He gave the slowly approaching Gaara the 'I know' head nod, and went back to trying to calm the pink-haired kunoichi.

"We should tell the Hokage" Gaara began, completely ignoring the near-hysterical woman in front of him and, after a few moments of muttering with Naruto, she agreed. She stood weakly like a baby deer only to have her teammate steady her once again, the tears had slowed for a moment and she could see clearly again but the crushed look on her face remained.

The quiet of the village didn't relent causing a palpable sense of anxiety between the three ninja, even Gaara was affected by the silence. Eventually Sakura could walk normally, although in a broken hearted slump, her gaze dragging along the dirt road beneath them, unreachable to the world.

Gaara led the group, deciding to leave the two friends alone in the hope that Naruto would be able to lift her mood slightly, but neither Jinchuriki had ever known the pain of losing their parents, primarily because they'd never experienced the happy family life that Sakura had enjoyed, so she took little comfort in their words.

"This silence is killing me!" Naruto growled stopping in the middle of the path causing Gaara to turn back while rolling his eyes. The blonde shinobi was stood, legs apart, and hands in the familiar crossed finger hand seal "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_"

Four clones surrounded him and quickly began running in each direction, knocking on doors and waiting for a response, any response. But to his dismay, he got nothing. Every door on every house remained shut and bolted, a sense of panic beginning to overwhelm him. He franticly continued his search, slamming on doors for a couple more houses before dissipating and relaying the information back to the original.

Naruto's face noticeably dropped, his usual smug grin and flare in his eyes, replaced with a slight gaped mouth and eyes that showed a kind of fear that Gaara didn't recognise, out of all the lives he'd taken in his young life, he'd never seen that look before.

"Gaara, I..." he faltered for a moment, the words hardly making their way up his throat to be thrust into the world "I think this is a lot bigger than we thought" he looked to the auburn-haired nin with sorrow in his eyes and Gaara felt something he'd never experienced before, he was being relied on. The plucky Genin was looking to him to be strong, whereas most people, even those under his command, would never rely on him for anything but his raw power.

"We should proceed to the Hokage's office, she'll know what to do" he tried to smile reassuringly at the two Konoha ninja and, although he wasn't very good at making a pleasant smile, his new warmth did comfort them to some minor extent, even though they all knew deep down, that she had about the same chances as the rest of them.

The rest of their trip to the Hokage's office was spent at speed, the three ninja jumped across the rooftops to get to their destination quicker. Tsunade's residence was a large building that towered over most of the village, and adjoined to the administrative section of the academy, primarily in red and white with the kanji for 'Fire' painted on top, it seemed at first to be as empty as the rest of the town and skulking around the dimly lit hallways, the three didn't come across a single soul.

Tsunade's office was the last room that joined to the hallway, the room itself was quite plain, facing the door was the wooden desk with a banner displaying the leaf village symbol draped over it and behind that was a concave wall of windows where the Hokage could look out over the town. To the left and right sides of the room were two large bookcases and various scrolls littered the floor, but the thing that drew attention was a figure slumped over the desk.

"Lady Tsunade!" Sakura screamed and rushed over to her mentor, shaking the blonde medical-nin to rouse her from her slumber. Naruto once again went to give his condolences to what would be a distraught girl, but to his and everyone in the room's surprise, the body did groan somewhat. The pink haired genin's face lit up when she heard the muffled tones of her teacher's voice from her position laid on the table.

"What..." she began, turning her head slightly so that she could see Sakura's face through one of her golden amber coloured eyes "the fuck..." she continued still quietly but the rage in her expression from being roused so suddenly from her hangover induced slumber was evident "WAS THAT!?" she bellowed with the loudest voice Naruto had ever heard from a woman, especially one of her age.

She stood quickly, towering above Sakura with a powerful fist smashing her desk to pieces, a habit that had raised the wood usage of the village quite substantially since the last Hokage. A menacing look mixed with a slight grimace was etched on her face as she stared at the two children, completely ignoring the sand shinobi that stood near the doorway.

She stood at five-foot-four and slightly off centre, Gaara was surprised to see her like this, from what Naruto had said he'd expected an old woman, but she didn't seem any older than thirty. The buxom woman wore a green robe with the kanji for 'gamble' emblazoned on the back over a grey kimono blouse and a belt that matched her trousers.

"Tsunade-sama, I..." Sakura trailed off, intimidated by her teacher's glare.

"Something's happened in the village" Gaara interjected, drawing attention to himself for the first time since they'd entered the office. The woman walked up to him and eyed him up, eyes squinting, trying to put a name to the face.

"And you are..?" she enquired, causing the sand nin to roll his eyes

"I am Gaara, from Sunagakure and you've got an emergency in your village" his gaze met hers twice as hard as she grinned at him welcomingly and moved on.

"What's this crisis then?" her flippancy showed how little she valued the group's judgement of the situation, so she rested against one of the remnants of her desk waiting for their report.

"M-m-my parents are..." Sakura's eyes filled with tears once more as the memory rushed back once again and stopped her in mid sentence, however her words were not required. A look from Gaara explained the falling tears of the girl.

"And that's not all" he continued, his expression grim and serious "It appears from our small investigation on the way here that the rest of the village has suffered a similar fate" Gaara being as matter-of-fact as usual, sparing no feelings in his short account of what had occurred.

The Hokage's face noticeably dropped, the weight of thousands of lost souls suddenly resting upon her shoulders, as the village's leader and protector she felt personally responsible for every last death. The woman was in a state of shock, she stared blankly at the floor near Gaara's feet, a single tear rolling down the contours of her altered face, the moment of weakness showing a glimpse of the frail old woman beneath the transformation technique.

"That... No, that can't be right" she began, her words trailing out of her mouth lacking the confidence she usually displayed. No more words needed be spoken, the very foundations of their world had been shaken to the core and nothing could be said to make it better, the room just fell into silence as they internally prayed for thier friends and family, wishing it was all some twisted dream. Even Gaara, who's grasp on the bonds of others had been weak at best, felt for the Konoha residents.

"Woah" Naruto exclaimed as a sudden rush of information hit his conscious mind, he rubbed his temple at the unusual sensation. The three other people in the room, even the still grieving Sakura, looked over at him with a mild concern, "It's probably nothing" he started, looking in the direction of the sand shinobi "It's just, the shadow clone we left in the hospital room just released itself"

"Hmm..." Tsunade pondered this for a moment, trying hard to resume her normal demeanour after that moment of weakness "The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu creates clones that are linked to the user's mind and once they dissipate the original is imbued with their memories" she looked to the ceiling in thought for a moment, creating a conversational vacuum while Naruto and Gaara waited for her to continue and Sakura continued to stare, teary-eyed, into space.

Suddenly jumping up from her post resting on the shattered desk she began once again "Naruto!" she pointed straight at him, her forefinger landing in the air just a few inches from his eyes causing him to jump back in shock.

"Y-yes, grandma-Tsunade" he stuttered, the look of surprise still evident on his face.

"How many shadow clones do you think you can create right now?" she continued, not lowering her hand as she did.

"A couple hundred, maybe more, I've never really found a limit for it" he scratched his head in thought "why?"

"Create as many clones as you can! Send them around the city and look for any more survivors, and tell them to come here, only then can we figure out the scale of this disaster"

"Right!" Naruto nodded in agreement, he separated his feet and formed the clone seal with his hands.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_"

* * *

**A/N: **Well thanks for reading that, I personally prefered chapter one but I guess they can't all be winners, I expect the next chapter to be a bit more fulfilling. As you can see, I've decided to keep Tsunade around as well for the time being for reasons that will (or may have already) become clear, I'm open to suggestions on a couple other characters that people may like to see survive so drop me a PM or a review with a name and I'll see what I can do :) So long till next time everybody :D


	3. Reconnaissance

Right guys, I know it's been a really long time since the last update and I'm sorry, just been so busy with college work the time just flew by but here it is, chapter three, mainly centered around the collection of other characters, this one's slightly longer than the others since there was a lot to put in. But either way, thanks for being patient, i just hope the next chapter will be more prompt... well enjoy :)

* * *

The army of Naruto clones rushed out of the Hokage's office in a blur of orange and black, crowding out of the building and in every direction whereas the original stayed behind with the others and waited for the clones to relay their thoughts to his mind and as the clones dispersed among the roads and alleys of Konoha he felt confident that they could find anyone who was out there.

"Now we wait, I guess..." Naruto sitting down on the floor where he'd previously summoned the clones. Gaara also sat on the floor after placing the sand gourd on the ground beside him, followed shortly by the Pink haired kunoichi, still quiet as before and not making any eye contact with the other two she stared once more, solemnly into the distance.

With the Hokage taking her place back on her desk chair and turning to face the window with a similar look of sorrow on her face, the group merely sat in silence once more, waiting to see a familiar face peering round the doorway to see them and silently praying that there were as many as possible.

The small army dispersed around the village, knocking on doors and climbing through windows to find any people they could and tell them of the meeting place. Clone number 216 was sent in the direction of the Hyuga manor house, a large and imposing building in the west of Konohagakure, in the sunlight it seemed more welcoming but the clone knew he probably wouldn't be very welcome inside under regular conditions.

He stepped apprehensively into the residence, hoping the reputable family hadn't suffered the same unfortunate fate. His hopes however, were in vain, the bodies of the Hyuga clan members were still in their beds as expected, enjoying an eternal slumber haunting as it was peaceful, it brought a very noticeable tear to the eye of the blonde shinobi. He searched the rooms in turn finding more and more bodies as he did, any hope he once had for them was gone replaced now with despair.

A whimper echoed down the hallways, the ninja's ears focussed, the sounds of a girl in tears sent him into a sprint to its location. As the sounds became less muffled he began to recognise the distinct tone, and as he turned the last corner he saw, the clan heiress herself, in a ball on the floor by a moonlit window, her dear cousin by her side an arm around her form.

"Neji! Hinata!" His relief must have come across as joy because the elder of the two Hyuga looked at him with distain, the prized eyes of his, red and puffed with held back tears.

"Naruto..." he managed to force out, his usual calm demeanour, on the verge of breakdown.

"Thank god, you're okay" began Naruto, approaching the two "The whole village has been-" he stopped himself, noticing Neji's expression and sensing he needn't continue that line of discussion "I'm gathering people from the village, we're meeting at the Hokage's office at once" Neji closed his eyes for a moment before replying.

"Fine," he began "I shall escort lady Hinata there immediately" He began to take Hinata into his arms, standing with ease holding her tiny frame.

"Actually Neji, I think you'd be better helping my other clones round up anyone else in the village, I'll take Hinata" the Hyuga nodded in agreement and handed the bundle of shivers over to him, before heading out the nearby door and disappearing from sight.

"You holding up okay, Hinata-chan?" the clone looked down into the sniffling heap, a single violet tinted eye could be seen, barely open and pooling with silent floods of tears, her other features were obscured however by wraps of cloth and locks of hair.

"N... N... Na..." The young kunoichi could not let free a single syllable before the blond boy hushed her once more.

"Save your energy, Hinata-chan, you'll need all the strength you can muster" he flashed her a reassuring smile and although it didn't help the pain, she felt somewhat comforted by his presence, unaffected by any feelings outside that moment, she closed her eyes and curled up tighter as he started for the office.

"Hey, Naruto!" number 87 snapped out of his daze and turned his head slightly to notice the two sand siblings walking towards him waving to get his attention, he met them down the road and smiled somewhat grimly, not that it was noticed by the blonde sand kunoichi "Where's our brother?" she continued, the clones they left in the hospital having dissipated some time ago "And for that matter, where's everyone else?" Kankuro stayed quiet during the conversation, surveying his surroundings in a bit of an uninterested stupor.

"He's at the Hokage's office" he pointed out the building in the distance "and as for the rest of the village..." the clone stopped in mid sentence, the sheer scale of the incident hitting him once again "they're..." he sighed deeply and looked down at the floor "dead" he finished.

"Oh my god!" Temari exclaimed "But... how could this happen?" she looked at the clone with some sympathy showing through that otherwise though exterior. But Naruto didn't know, all he knew was to get anyone who was left to Tsunade as soon as possible, and that's what he was going to do. By this time even Kankuro had focussed and was showing some concern.

"What's going to happen now?" The younger sibling finally spoke up, hiding any feelings he had once more with a mask of indifference. Once again, Naruto had no answer for them he merely suggested they head to the meeting place along with everyone else as that's the only answer he had available. The brother and sister agreed fully, following the clone in the direction of the large red and white building.

Neji landed atop of the Hyuga manor house and activated his Byakugan and was startled by what he saw. In his range he could make out precious few chakra signals. Two leading off into the distance of Hinata and Naruto and one other within a hundred yards.

"Another clone" he scoffed, the final signs of redness dissipating from his prized eyes "Fine, I shall rendezvous with him then" and with that he descended to the nearby clone.

Number 135 was searching each house down a nearby lane, systematically checking each one for life with no results however. Neji reassumed his game face and met with the clone "I've come to aid the search" he stated blankly, the startled clone showing signs of both shock and relief.

"Neji!" the clone shouted, having not received any information from 216 as he's yet to dissipate "Well err... great to have you on board?" he stated awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"No time for small talk Naruto, just follow my lead and try to keep up" he bolted off in the direction Naruto was heading in before scanning every building quickly as he did so. Naruto was stunned by the composure of the genius genin who looked past building after empty building with no signs of life and didn't break down.

A quick left turn and Neji picked up speed, down a road familiar to both the genin. The eldest stopped suddenly and pointed out a house in particular "There, Naruto! Three live chakra networks in the front room" the blonde ninja slammed straight through the door without stopping to realise whose house it was.

Not nearly as impressive as the Hyuga manor, the Nara residence was a quaint home near that of the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans, a young member of each was sat near the centre of the room, Chouji and Ino crying bitterly while Shikamaru sat with them silently, maintaining his composure in front of his teammates.

Little did Naruto know, that Neji had actually continued ahead without him and was continuing down the road as before, towards another familiar face. He continued to scan the houses as he progressed but with no signs of life he continued on his course to the house of one his teammates and one of the few people he considered his closest friends.

Tenten's apartment was neither as big nor impressive as the Hyuga manor, the orphaned daughter of a nameless travelling weaponsmith lived off a city allowance and her pay from missions, Neji had only been here a few times but could always find his teammates homes if need be.

He was relieved to see the blue chakra network of his friend getting ready for her day, unaware as of yet, of the tragedy all around her. The Hyuga deactivated his Byakugan and approached the front door, knocking three times and waiting impatiently for the door to open.

"Neji, what're you doing here?" she asked inquisitively as she opened the door "we're not meeting with Lee and Gai-sensai for another hour" she smiled at him warmly, pleasantly surprised by the visit. Her smile however, subsided somewhat when she saw the melancholy expression on his face "Neji-kun, what's wrong?"

"Follow me to the Hokage's office, I'll explain on the way"

Simultaneously Naruto 198 reached the front gate of Konohagakure, the road he was assigned left him feeling bitterly disappointed and quite disheartened but then he heard a noise.

"COME ON LEE!"

"Yes Gai-Sensai!"

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LET MY YOUTH GET THE BETTER OF YOU, ARE YOU!?"

"NO GAI-SENSAI!"

The sound emanated from just outside the gate. Down the road could be seen two green clad shinobi racing toward the city, the smaller of which was slowly pulling ahead. The clone's eyes widened in glee, the green and blue beasts of Konoha promising to distract from the situation around them. Rock Lee crossed over the imaginary finish line a microsecond before his mentor, grinning inanely and sweating profusely.

"Well done Lee!" Might Gai embraced his young student, before the pair noticed Naruto and turned, giving a simultaneous thumbs up "Good morning Naruto, come to join us on our morning workout have you? Well feel free we're only just warming up!"

"Yes, Naruto. Do join us for a quick sixty laps around the village on our hands!" he eyed the blond shinobi intently, willing him to accept but the clone had just remembered what he'd been sent to do.

"Maybe some other time, we need to get to the Hokage's office as soon as possible" the two overactive ninja stopped beaming and looked at him puzzled.

"Whatever for, Naruto?" The elder enquired, having calmed down somewhat having recognised the seriousness in his voice. Lee nodded in agreement and stared at Naruto in anticipation for the answer.

"Well, there's been a major disaster in the village and everyone is being called in" he began, the expressions he was faced with became those of worry but primarily confusion.

"But Naruto-kun, the village seems fine, doesn't it?" he looked to his mentor for confirmation.

"Yes, everything seems normal to me. Are you trying to fool us Naruto? Because our youth shall not be deceived by such weak skills!" the fire in his eyes flared up again.

"No," the blonde continued "It's the villagers, Gai-sensai. They're dead" The green clad jōnin changed his facial expression to that of uncharacteristic severity while his pupil became extremely quiet and distant.

"Lee," he began "We should head to the Hokage's office at once"

* * *

Right, well kind of a bridge chapter, I know, i just used this to get most of the characters in there (don't worry some others [Kakashi, Shino, Kiba] make their own way there so i have ommited them :L) and i kinda mentioned Ino-Shika-Cho only in passing, i'm not hatin', I just wanna use them more in the future :L Well please let me know what you think, i was trying to stay in character for each one but it gets complicated so please do let me know how i can improve :) Well new updates will come along soon, thanks Guys :D


	4. The Few That Remain

Hey guys, only a short chapter tonight to keep the ball rolling, also to fill in the gaps in the character roster and finalise my survivors, I hope you don't hate this chapter too much, it's just to smooth out my averages in case i come across another long absence, I'll try not too but you know how time is :P

* * *

As the last clone dissipated and the original Naruto was hit with his final batch of information he closed his eyes to alleviate the mild discomfort caused by the influx of memories. A grim nod to his compatriots confirmed their fears. This was it.

With the additions of Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Shizune, Kiba and Shino that made fourteen genin, a chunin, five jōnin and a sanin. Not great for a city with a multiple thousand population by any standard. The office was now filled with people, eerily quiet apart from the occasional snivel and mutter from time to time, the scale of the disaster had hit almost everyone in the room similarly, some, such as Chouji, were still in floods of tears, whereas people like Hinata and Shikamaru mourned in silence, and some put their game face on and stayed tough, glaring examples being Neji and Kiba.

At the top end of the room the Jōnin shinobi and lady Tsunade were silently discussing what to do. To the right of them were Naruto, Sakura, Lee and the sand ninja, sat against a nearby wall next to a bookcase, downwards from there was Shino sat alone in dead silence but close enough to Kiba, Ino and Chouji that they opened their circle to him on the opposite side to Shikamaru who was sat also silently, leaning against the wall that separated the office from the hallway thinking at a mile a minute to understand the situation. Then opposite them was the two Hyugas and number 216 who Hinata had requested stay with them in not so many words as to hold his arm as he set her down.

"Tsunade-sama..." Naruto needn't finish the sentence, a maudlin look from the kunoichi was acknowledgement enough. After that the room once more set into a deep and eerie quiet. But suddenly, as if to break the tension, a heavy thumping could be heard from the door moments before it swung open revealing a slightly panicked looking toad sage.

"Tsunade!" he bellowed before noticing the assembly, one blonde haired shinobi of which, lit up as he saw the white haired man, restraining his enthusiasm and relief for the time being. Quickly regaining his composure Jiraiya continued "I guess you already know then" Tsunade nodded as he walked over to the desk with the other high ranking ninja and lowered his voice "Is this all that's left?"

"I'm afraid so, Jiraiya-sama" Kakashi interjected "and we have no idea what's happened" the toad sage pondered this, a grim look in his eyes.

"well have you asked everyone if anyone had witnessed any unusual occurrences during the night?"

"We're yet to discuss this matter with the children, we've been stood here trying to work out the safest course of action" Tsunade replied, the relief she felt for her teammate's safety now replaced with her businesslike attitude as Hokage.

"Well I think a discussion is needed then, surely we owe it to them to be frank with them at a time like this and who knows, we may gather some valuable Intel" Jiraiya looked around the group to the nods before stepping back and taking a seat on a nearby windowsill. Tsunade stood above the room and began to address what was left of her people.

"Everyone, may I have your attention please" with that people began to shift and turn so that every set of puffed and reddened eyes were upon her "As you all know during the night our great village has been ravaged by what is most likely the worst tragedy to ever befall us" the feeling of the room was palpable at this point "But it is crucial at this time, however that we retain our composure and take swift action. And so we shall now discuss any available information at present. So for now what we know is that, whatever invaded our city left no visible trace and didn't rouse its victims from their sleep and for some reason left the rest of us unaffected" she glanced to her colleagues for confirmation, which she received, her eyes resting finally on Jiraiya.

"So we could either be looking at some powerful collaboration of ninjutsu and genjutsu but to a scale I've never even heard of, but that wouldn't explain how we survived. Or..." he looked back at the blonde kunoichi.

"Some form of fast acting pathogen or bioweapon... again, none of which I've ever heard of before and again also wouldn't explain how we survived" her face sunk into dismay "but first we must know, did anyone see or hear any form of suspicious activity between the hours of around eleven PM and three AM last night?" as to be expected, the crowd stayed dead quiet and the dismay spread to all others in the room.

"Well if it was some sort of weapon or elaborate Jutsu, what enemies of the leaf could muster such an assault?" Kakashi enquired, moving the conversation onward.

"As far as a Jutsu is concerned" Jiraiya continued "I would rank Orochimaru high on the list of suspects"

"Surely not though" Tsunade interpolated "It doesn't seem like his way, does it? He's more of a "seize and conquer" type, this level of subtlety doesn't fit well with him at all"

"I wouldn't rule him out though, Tsunade, I mean his hatred for the leaf could one day have surpassed his need for that type of flamboyance" Tsunade nodded to her friend in agreement.

"How about the Akatsuki?" Naruto chimed in quietly.

"Good idea, Naruto" Once again, Jiraiya shook his head "But the Akatsuki's plans don't seem to have advanced to the point where they could do such a thing, but once again, we can't be sure, my spy networks aren't foolproof" he shrugged unenthusiastically "There's also a lot of possibility from the other nations possibly jostling for power, or maybe it's not even someone we've deemed a threat to this point. Realistically we can't be sure of anything until we know what happened which, Tsunade, I'm sure a thorough autopsy may be able to identify" The Hokage nodded as Jiraiya turned to the silver haired Jōnin Kakashi to take over with the plan they'd discussed in whispers as Tsunade began the address. The two sanin and Shizune left swiftly thereafter.

"Right everyone" Kakashi began "Go home in no less than groups of three and gather any important belongings, pack light and don't leave anything behind that you'll need. We're leaving the village" The final statement caused somewhat of an uproar, or an approximation thereof.

"But why, Kakashi-sensai?" Naruto asked inquisitively.

"Because, Naruto, the thing that did this may either come back or is still here, either way we'd be better off getting as far away as possible" as unhappy about it as Naruto was, he couldn't deny the jōnin's logic.

"But if it's a shinobi, shouldn't we stay and fight them!?" Kiba exclaimed dimly from the far end of the room, in a vain hope at getting some vengeance.

"And what if it's not?" Kakashi replied simply "and even if it is, this thing managed to kill upwards of fifty thousand people in one night and without waking them up, do you really wanna go up against that?" he looked at Kiba with his one revealed eye and the young ninja sat down once more, his ego thoroughly wounded "Now what _is_ important is getting you kids out of here as soon as possible so we can figure out what our next move is" a quick glance around the room to make sure everyone's on board "Now, let's get going. Dismissed!"

* * *

again guys, sorry about the half hearted, one night of work chapter, i promise the next one will be much better, but still keep your reviews in and remember although this group is the ones who've survived here they won't be the only characters in it so keep your comments and suggestions rolling in and I'll see ya soon :D


	5. Preparations

Hi everyone, a pretty long chapter this time to make up for yet another absence, you know how it is college and uni and such, anyways, enjoy :)

* * *

The group of young shinobi filed out of the room obediently and made way for the homes of their trios, Naruto heading to the area of the village where the orphan's apartments are situated along with Tenten and Sakura, the latter of which just wanted to stay with her friend for the time being. Having retrieved his travel bag earlier with Gaara, the blonde ninja only went home to pick up the picture frame he'd left before, without the promise of his return he didn't want to leave such a precious memento.

Tenten however, had to pack from scratch, which proved to take some time, the various scrolls and sealing equipment meant a good half hour was devoted simply it all, then another ten minutes for everything else before she picked up her final item, her prized possession, a thin sword with her name engraved on the blade, the favourite weapon in the girl's collection and her only memory of her weaponsmith father, she strapped it to her back so the handle could be seen over her right shoulder and strapped her bag over the left before the group set off for the Haruno residence.

Very little had been said since they had set off, the two orphans not quite able to understand the cherry blossoms agony, she paced ahead of Naruto and Tenten, in silent despair, noting how every little detail of the village reminded her of her parents and her life up until that morning, the tears had by then stopped falling, as if the part of her that could produce tears had been cried out as well.

The nearby weapons mistress spoke to Naruto without words, imploring him to talk to Sakura in an attempt to get her out of her own mind, and no matter how vain he knew it'd be, Naruto nodded in agreement, so simultaneously they approached their friend.

"S- Sakura-chan..." Naruto began, drawing her attention as expressed with a heavy and mournful "Hmm?" Her eyes met his, reddened and barely aware, but they expressed a sorrow that the boy had never encountered, whatever he was going to say simply lost all meaning in the wake of her gaze. Similarly, Tenten saw no use in empty words, nothing either one could say would fix anything and they would only be insulting Sakura to try.

And so, they continued to walk the empty streets in silence, the Haruno residence and the orphan apartments were on opposite sides of the village and as time went on the silence became excruciating, every fibre of the blonde shinobi's being was crying out to break the silence but he refrained until they approached the house.

Everything was as they left it but Sakura merely stood outside the slightly ajar doorway, unable to will her feet into action a look of abject misery etched upon her face, the two orphans looked on at her, wondering what they should do, a moment of silence passed before Tenten spoke "Sakura, do you want... maybe I could-" but she was silenced by Sakura's upwards placed palm willing her to stop "I... I'm going" she spoke, the same sorrow in her voice as before.

Into the doorway and up the stairs she walked, sluggishly and reluctantly and the other two followed closely. She rounded a corner and entered her bedroom, averting her gaze from the door that her mother and father laid behind.

Naruto sat on the floor by Sakura's bed whereas Tenten opted to stand, his childish glee at being invited into Sakura's house, into her room, was overridden by the seriousness of the situation, he just watched in concern as the girl packed her belongings into a dull pink knapsack.

Elsewhere, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio was arriving at their respective homes, practically neighbours it didn't take long to get between them. Ino and Shikamaru collected Choji's belongings for him to save him having to return to the house and see his father asleep on a chair in the downstairs living room.

Then the Nara household, Shikamaru opting for a smaller bag, him not being much of a sentimentalist and claiming that taking everything was too troublesome, just the barest of bare essentials as well as a travel shogi board (shedding a silent tear at losing his chance to finally beat Shikaku) and his father's book of clan knowledge, the same book that helped to save Choji after he ate the Akimichi clan's red pill not too long ago.

The final stop was the Yamanaka home, Ino's tough exterior masking her pain as they entered the building. The deafening silence inside the home was quite unlike anything they'd heard there before, often there was either Ino or her mother shouting at Inoichi for some minor indiscretion or another.

She packed her bag as quickly as possible, knowing her charade of being fine wouldn't last for long in that place. So for once Ino, who usually took at least an hour to get ready, was the first one outside and ready to go. Shikamaru and Choji arrived five minutes later, their bags strapped to their backs, no words needed to be said between the close friends and so they departed for the Hokage's residence.

Elsewhere, Tsunade was still at her desk, a bottle of sake in one hand and a tear rolling down her cheek, her elbows rested on the desk and her other hand covered her eyes. Shizune had left with the others to find a body for the autopsy leaving the Hokage alone, right what Tsunade wanted, she could not feel worse and so, when everyone left she got out her favourite bottle and began to drink.

Not even tipsy yet however, she continued onto her fourth drink but still, no relief, it was as if all those souls that'd been lost under her care were forcing these feelings upon her and no amount of drinking will quell the tide.

"You know, Tsunade, this isn't your fault" a familiar voice spoke from the open window behind her.

"I thought you'd gone to prepare with the others, Jiraiya" she spoke solemnly, not bothering to face her friend as she replied.

"Well I was leaving before any of this happened, my bag was already packed" he stepped down from the window and sat on the desk near the slouched kunoichi. She looked up to his pleasant expression with one of crushing guilt and debilitating sadness.

"It... It's the Hokage's duty... to protect the people of the village with their life, but now... my people are gone and I still continue to live... and now we have to abandon the village for good... I have failed, I don't deserve to call myself a Kage" she slumped back down again in despair, resting her head on her forearms.

"Tsunade..." the toad sage spoke softly and quietly but with unwavering conviction "You remember what Sarutobi-sensai told us after he became the Hokage?" Tsunade rose her head slightly so one eye could look toward her friend "He said, the Hokage's duty is to preserve the will of fire and as long as at least one citizen still believes then you haven't failed. These kids have the will of fire in spades so now it is our duty to teach them, make sure the will of the Hokages isn't lost... Jiraiya could see in her eyes that his speech was starting to take effect, he smiled warmly at her.

"But why? Why do we get to live when everyone else dies? What makes us more deserving than Iruka or Ebisu or anyone else for that matter?"

"Well Tsunade, I don't know, but that's yours and Shizune's jobs now" He chuckled slightly as he spoke drawing another smile from the slug sanin "Besides, now more than ever we need our figurehead sober and brave to set an example so get yourself ready, people will start arriving back any minute now" she sat up slowly and put the cap back on her bottle.

"Thank you, Jiraiya" she said gently.

"It's okay" he replied, but then remembered as he got up from the desk "Oh, almost forgot, you might want to crack open the jutsu vault, I mean, there's only so much we can teach them" he smiled widely before leaving on another errand.

The red-eyed genjutsu user looked upon the house of the Hyuga clan in some awe, even though she'd been teaching Hinata for quite some time now, she hadn't actually been to the place since she was a small girl and had been invited over by a friend from the academy. The three of them had already been to her apartment on their way here and so she was just following the children, the youngest of which hadn't spoken a word to either of them the whole trip, regardless of her sensei's best efforts.

She left Neji to himself for now, knowing from Guy how independent the boy was, she instead opted to follow the clan heir. She stood in the doorway of the immaculate bedroom as Hinata started packing her things "Hinata, I..." she stuttered, trying to break the silence "Well, you know I'm always here for you, if you need it" The young kunoichi looked to her sensei with the white eyes that were her clan's trademark and forced a melancholic smile.

"Hey Gaara, what do you think we should do?" the middle sand sibling asked regarding their return to the hidden sand "We can't stay with these people, can we?" the auburn haired jinchuriki pondered the question for a moment.

"You may do as you please, Kankuro" he began "I will be staying" he looked at his brother with a half smile "Naruto Uzumaki helped me that day, and now is my chance to help him" the smile then faded as he thought of the village "and besides, the village hidden in the sand doesn't want me, the monster, they just want a weapon"

"Can you two stop muttering and help us!" Temari shouted from ahead of them, her and Shizune were at that moment moving a corpse into position next to a sealing scroll "We still have two more bodies to recover!" she was referring of course, to the different samples they had to recover, a male and female child, adult and elder so as to comprehensibly examine the effects and causes of death and so far they'd recovered the children and the adults, for anyone else this task would be deeply distressing, but after so long working as a medical-nin Shizune had learned to separate her emotions from the task at hand.

Kankuro gave his brother a slight nod before joining the other two, no-one honestly expected Gaara to help with the physical labour, but he did provide a cushion of sand beneath the body to lighten the load. The body was that of a thirty or so, year old female with brown hair, wearing red pyjamas and a ruby necklace, but just like the other, she disappeared in a puff of smoke, sealed into the scroll.

"Right, onto the next one" Shizune articulated, rolling up the scroll.

"Kakashi-sensei, why do you not use the ninja hounds to track the enemy's movements?" Lee asked inquisitively, waiting by the front gate of the village had given him some time to think since the group with him, Guy and Kakashi had arrived at the rendezvous way ahead of schedule.

"Because," the copy ninja began "if I were to summon Pakkun and the others they may become afflicted by the same ailments as the villagers, I can't risk their safety on this one. Besides, our enemy is probably smart enough to cover their tracks expertly"

"Ahh, I see" he went back to thinking again _"Maybe Kiba-san can smell something?" _nearby Tsunade was just arriving at the gate, bag over one shoulder and a large red scroll over the other, her game-face returned and her stance, that of determination. Lee observed this and made a note of the unusual scroll as she turned to talk to Kakashi.

Soon thereafter more of the groups arrived and slowly but surely those that remained congregated at the front gate, the younger ones sitting in a circle near the guard station whereas the adults stood further off. The last person to arrive was Jiraiya, his errand complete he met with the other higher level ninja, a quick discussion and a shared nod followed, then, as one, they turned to the children.

"Listen up everybody," Tsunade drew their attention "We're heading out. A one day trip to the next village for now, there we shall figure out our next move, so collect your luggage, let's go!"

* * *

Well thanks for reading guys, don't worry, it'll start getting good next chapter :D as always review and whatnot, always happy to hear from you :D


	6. The Past In The Past

Hey Guys, sorry at the dissapointing update pace, i'm in the middle of my A-level coursework and so it's a bit difficult to write but i got five minutes so here ya go, enjoy :D

* * *

Tanzaku town, an area the sanin know all too well for its good food, drinking, fine women and gambling, the sin city of the Shinobi world, not exactly a place to take a group of children for sure, but under the circumstances it was the best option. It had all the necessary amenities and was close to the hidden leaf so it didn't take long to get there either.

The small inn in the middle of the town rented out all ten rooms they had for the Konoha shinobi, but even so most people had to share a room, including Naruto with Gaara, Kiba with Shino, Lee with Neji, Ino with Tenten, Hinata with Sakura, Choji with Shikamaru, Temari with Kankuro, Gai with Kakashi, Asuma with Kurenai with Tsunade with Shizune and Jiraiya alone.

The group arrived there in the dead of night on Sunday after a mostly silent journey and everyone was exhausted, the rooms were paid for with the village's remaining money and allocated by Tsunade and everyone ascended for some much needed rest.

No-one rose again for some hours, but nonetheless Naruto awoke in the early afternoon, fully rested and ready to go, Gaara alongside having not slept, preferring rather to lay there in the hope that he may one day sleep soundly. He roused the boy and asked if he wanted to join him, the boys merely walked down to the inn lounge and sat, Naruto sighing heavily as he did. About ten minutes of mostly silence passed before a familiar sound was heard.

"Naruto, I need to speak with you alone" a deep and serious voice chimed up.

"Pervy sage?" the boy turned to the voice. Jiraiya was stood in the doorway, with a serious look etched on his face.

"I need you to come with me, now" The blonde looked towards his friend, who merely nodded to him with a vague smile, allowing him to follow his master out of the room.

Jiraiya led Naruto out of town and into the hills nearby, the surroundings reminded the boy of their mission to retrieve Tsunade those months ago, from the spot the toad sage chose, Naruto could see the whole town.

"So pervy sage, what did you wanna talk about anyway?" he gave his mentor an inquisitive look, the man looked into the sky for a moment before replying.

"Naruto, the events of the past day or so have deeply altered our world and so, I feel there's some information you need to know"

"Information, what sort of information?"

"Hmm... well where to begin!?" he chuckled heartily "Well I guess a natural starting point is the start, your birth to be exact. For starters your parents are Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki" he didn't even need to look at the boy to figure out what his response would be.

"Wha-WHa-WHA-WHAT!?" Naruto yelled at the top of his voice, disturbing the birds nearby "I'm the son of the fourth Hokage!?" even though he was expecting it the sheer volume surprised him nonetheless.

"Well yes, you are, but that's not the thick of it" he continued, smiling slightly. From that point the sanin proceeded to tell the young boy everything he knew about his parents, the nine tails and the circumstances of his birth. The information took Naruto a moment to process, a look of rage-fuelled determination in his eyes.

"So... my parents were killed by the nine tails... and some masked man?" Jiraiya nodded seriously "And why are you telling me this now?" rage filled his expression once more "And why wasn't I told this sooner!" The toad sage's smile faded somewhat before replying.

"Well Naruto, it was the third's wishes that you not be told about this until the time you were ready, but under current circumstances you need to be ready now"

Elsewhere the rest of the Konoha nin were slowly but surely awakening, each one gradually being coaxed out of their own dream worlds and thrust into reality. It was one of the only times when they had been allowed to sleep until waking on their own, Tsunade thought it only fair after the recent events as it also allowed her to mull the situation over since she'd never slept more than five or six hours in one go since becoming Hokage.

Nonetheless she rose from her bed a short time after Naruto and Jiraiya had left, the toad sage having discussed his intentions with her the night before prior to turning in, she knew exactly what was going on and approved, as much as she respected the third, his decision to keep the boy in the dark seemed unnecessary to her. After taking a shower she proceeded to get ready for what was left of the day, lazily she put on her ever-present green haori and looked herself in the mirror. She could see through the transformation jutsu, the sad old lady that she was becoming and it brought a silent tear to her eye.

She remembered what Jiraiya had told her just the other day, how she had to be the strong figurehead that they all needed. Remembering this she regained control of her emotion and wiped the tear away, she smiled into the mirror to herself _"Just get through the days Tsunade, one at a time"_ It was the only motivation she needed for the time being, she left the mirror and lifted the red scroll from before that was sitting by her bed, affixing it firmly to her back.

She paced slowly down to the inn lounge, the halls of the building were still eerily quiet but the sanin could make out the sounds of people stirring behind the doors. Moving on, she proceeded downstairs and to the front door, greeting the lady at the desk as she did.

As she left she saw through to the inn lounge and the auburn haired boy sitting silently on his own, staring into space with his signature look of indifference on his face, the Kage thought back to a conversation they'd had the day before on their way there.

The Blonde Kunoichi had wondered pretty soon after they set off from the leaf, what the sand shinobi were planning to do since they owed no obligation to the leaf. She drew closer in the formation to the redhead until she was at pace next to him.

"Hello, Gaara" she began, his eyes drifted in her direction as a sign of acknowledgement "I was just thinking. Have you any plans to return to the Sand in the near future?" He looked away from her before replying, his foot leaving another tree branch as he begun.

"No, I do not think we will return there for some time"

"But, why?" Tsunade probed, she knew of the harsh consequences that could be felt for a shinobi who abandons their village, being labelled a missing-nin is not a task one should undertake lightly. Once again, Gaara replied slowly, he too knew the possible ramifications of this course of action.

"Because of him" the auburn haired shinobi looked to his fellow Jinchuriki, who was travelling just ahead of them, with what could be deemed a smile "Naruto Uzumaki saved me some time ago, from the person I was. He showed me that true strength wasn't about loving oneself or proving your own existence, but about finding people precious to you and using your power to protect them" He glanced back with his amateur smile to the sanin, "I hope to repay the debt I owe him. So maybe then I can make bonds like his and become precious to people too, and that is worth any punishment my village could bestow" Tsunade was taken aback by the truthfulness in his voice as she herself had experienced Naruto's peculiar power to change people, the reason she became Hokage in the first place. No more words needed be said, they both understood each other and so Tsunade picked up pace so as to lead the group once more.

"_Making bonds, eh? Well he's not gonna do that sat on his own, is he?"_ she smiled lightly to herself in amusement "Hey Gaara" she drew the Jinchuriki's attention "You hungry?" she smiled warmly "I'm off out to lunch, wanna come? My treat" he looked to the floor momentarily before replying once again with his new smile, he grabbed his gourd from the floor and followed her out of the inn.

* * *

Well there ya go :D Wanted to explore a kind of Tsunade/Gaara dinamic there (not in a romantic way though cus that's a tad wierd :L) and there is a reason behind the quick reveal for naruto but you'll just have to wait and see for that one :P As always though, keep your ideas and suggestions rolling in, i'm always striving for improvement so don't be shy :D Anyways, thanks for reading and see ya soon :D


End file.
